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Hajj stampede tragedy kills at least 717 pilgrims

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Hajj stampede tragedy kills at least 717 pilgrims01:54

Footage obtained by CNN Arabic shows a disturbing scene. Bodies piled upon bodies, a few moving, but most appearing lifeless. Workers in hard hats and reflective vests can be seen pulling dead bodies away to get to those who are still alive.

Ethar El-Katatney, a pilgrim who was near the stampede site about five hours after the surge happened, said she walked past ambulances carrying bodies of victims. She said she saw numerous police officers and medical personnel in the area.

The incident is the deadliest disaster at Mina since 1990, when 1,426 people died.

Civil defense authorities said the latest death toll is 717, with 863 people injured, but the numbers have been climbing steadily. Officials deployed 4,000 workers, along with 220 ambulances and other vehicles, to Mina in response to the disaster.

In the ritual, crowds of pilgrims throw stones at three pillars in a re-enactment of when the Prophet Abraham stoned the devil and rejected his temptations, according to Muslim traditions.

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz held an emergency meeting to discuss the stampede, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud later ordered a review of the country's plans during Hajj.

"Regardless of the investigation results, the improvement of the methods and mechanisms of the Hajj season will not stop. We have instructed the concerned entities to re-evaluate the current policy and the distribution of responsibilities," he said.

In Thursday's stampede, pilgrims were walking toward the largest of the pillars when there was a sudden surge in the crowd about 9 a.m., causing a large number of people to fall, the Saudi Press Agency said, citing civil defense officials.

Saudi emergency personnel surround bodies of Hajj pilgrims at the site of a stampede Thursday, September 24, in Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Thursday morning's stampede killed hundreds during one of the last rituals of the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

Saudi emergency personnel carry a body.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

People stand near the bodies of victims at the site of the stampede.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

Bodies lie covered in sheets. The death toll has been climbing steadily.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

People stand near bodies covered in sheets.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

Muslim pilgrims and rescuers gather around the victims.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

Bodies lie in the street as emergency personnel work.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

Saudi emergency personnel load a wounded pilgrim into an ambulance.

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Emergency personnel carry an injured person.

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Saudi ambulances arrive on the scene.

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Photos:Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede

A man searches for a relative injured in the stampede.

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Saudi medics tend to an injured pilgrim.

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Saudi emergency personnel stand near bodies of Hajj pilgrims.

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A risky pilgrimage

The ceremony was the scene of stampedes and hundreds of deaths in the 1980s and 1990s as pilgrims passed a crowded bottleneck area leading to the small pillars on the ground.

The ritual

The stoning ritual is done over at least two days. Pilgrims stone the three pillars at Mina -- believed to be where the devil was stoned when he tried to dissuade Abraham from obeying God's orders to slaughter his son. According to tradition, the event was a test from God, who gave Abraham a ram to slaughter instead.

Thursday was the third day of the Hajj.

On September 11, just days before this year's Hajj started, a construction crane crashed through the roof of another Hajj destination, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing 107 people. At least 238 others suffered injuries when a powerful storm toppled the crane.

Losing one's life during the Hajj season is considered by many devout Muslims as an entry to heaven.

Muslim pilgrims make their way to cast stones at a pillar in the "stoning the devil" ritual Thursday, September 24, in Mina near Mecca, Saudi Arabia. At some point during this last rite of the annual Hajj, a stampede occurred, killing and injuring hundreds. More than 2 million Muslims have been making the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. The Hajj is one of the most celebrated events in the Islamic calendar.

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Photos:The Hajj: Muslims gather for annual pilgrimage

A pilgrim reads the Quran on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy, on the plain of Arafat, near Mecca on Wednesday, September 23.

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Photos:The Hajj: Muslims gather for annual pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims pray at Namira Mosque on September 23 on Mount Arafat near Mecca.

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Pilgrims join in one of the Hajj rituals early September 23 on Mount Arafat. For most Muslims, the pilgrimage is the spiritual climax of their lives, with many saving for decades to be able to make the journey to Mecca.

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Photos:The Hajj: Muslims gather for annual pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims pray on the Mountain of Mercy, on the plain of Arafat. Islam requires every Muslim who is physically and financially able to make the journey to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime.

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Photos:The Hajj: Muslims gather for annual pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims pray on the Mountain of Mercy on Tuesday, September 22.

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Muslim pilgrims touch Islam's holiest shrine, the Kaaba, at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday, September 21. Performing the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam.

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Photos:The Hajj: Muslims gather for annual pilgrimage

Muslim pilgrims circle counterclockwise the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday. The pilgrimage, conducted over five days, includes detailed rituals including wearing a special garment that symbolizes human equality and unity before God, a procession around the Kaaba and the symbolic stoning of evil.

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Known as the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj is an obligation upon every Muslim who has the financial means and the physical ability to perform it. For most, it is the spiritual climax of their lives, with many saving for decades to make the journey.

The pilgrimage, conducted over five days, includes detailed rituals such as wearing a special white garment that symbolizes human equality and unity before God; a circular procession around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, surrounded by Mecca's Grand Mosque; and the symbolic stoning.